By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw (Episode 1,682)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at Xfinity Mobile Arena
Streamed live August 18, 2025, on Netflix
[Hour One] Michael Cole checked in on commentary and mentioned that it was the 29th time that Philadelphia hosted Raw. Cole set up a video package that recapped last week’s show… Cole narrated backstage shots of Jey Uso and Women’s World Champion Naomi. Cole listed the attendance as 13,056. Cole was joined on commentary by Corey Graves…
“The Vision” Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, and Paul Heyman made their entrance. Rollins dressed like Mrs. Roper for reasons that only make sense to Seth Rollins (look it up, kids). Heyman spoke of being in Philadelphia, boasted that he’s a god and a GOAT.
Heyman delivered over-the-top introductions for all three men. An “OTC” chant broke out after Heyman’s introduction of Reed. Heyman said the fans weren’t chanting OTC; they were chanting Paul E. A “Paul E” chant followed. Heyman mentioned that Rollins has pinned Roman Reigns twice at WrestleMania. Seth held the mic up to speak, but entrance music stopped him.
Jey Uso made his entrance through the crowd. Jey stopped on the first level steps and spoke from there about how he was tired of hearing The Vision talk and threaten his family. Jey also mentioned that he’d be facing Breakker later in the show.
Rollins tried to fire up Breakker by saying that Jey thinks he can beat him and that his family is more important than Breakker’s family. Breakker got so fired up that his allies had to stop him from leaving the ring. Heyman questioned Jey interrupting them in Philadelphia.
Heyman said men settled their differences in a nearby bingo hall by having matches with no disqualifications or count-outs. Heyman mentioned Sandman, New Jack, Rob Van Dam, Sabu, and The Dudley Boyz. Heyman also mentioned “the late, great Tommy Dreamer.”
Heyman said he knew that Dreamer wasn’t dead yet, but he said that Dreamer should be. Funny. Breakker acted surprised that Dreamer was still alive. Jey said that great minds think alike, because the only rules he needed were Extreme Rules…
Powell’s POV: Heyman mentioning the names of the ECW legends and telling a joke at Dreamer’s expense was really fun. I thought Rollins was past his strange attire phase now that he’s the head of The Vision faction.
Cole and Graves spoke at their broadcast table and set up footage of last week’s drama involving Iyo Sky and “The Kabuki Warriors” Asuka and Kairi Sane…
Iyo Sky was shown at the Gorilla position. Asuka and Kairi Sane showed up. Asuka apologized for shoving Sky last week. Sane said to let them know if she needed help. Sky said she knows they would always have her back, but she needed to do it on her own, just as Asuka has done in the past. Sky high-fived Asuka and Sane. Sky made her entrance while being introduced by ring announcer Alicia Taylor, heading into a commercial break… [C]
1. Iyo Sky vs. Raquel Rodriguez (w/Roxanne Perez). Rodriguez’s entrance was not televised. Cole recalled Rodriguez beating Sky to win the NXT Championship. He also noted that Rodriguez has won more tag titles in WWE than any other woman. Sky ran the ropes, but Perez grabbed her leg from the floor. Sky jawed at Perez, and Rodriguez took advantage of the distraction by dropping Sky with a big boot. [C]
Sky went for an Over The Moonsault, but she landed on her feet when Rodriguez rolled out of the way. Sky grabbed her ankle. Rodgriguez turned Sky inside out with a clothesline and covered her for a near fall. A short time later, Sky jumped from the middle rope and DDT’d Rodriguez, who rolled under the bottom rope. Sky hit Perez with a suicide dive.
Sky went for a suicide dive on Rodriguez, who caught her and rolled rough. Rodriguez sent Sky into the ring post. Back in the ring, Rodriguez set up for her finisher, but Sky avoided it and hit her with the Bullet Train Attack. Sky went up top and hit the Over The Moonsault for the win.
Iyo Sky defeated Raquel Rodriguez in 11:00.
Perez attacked Sky after the match. Rodriguez held Sky while Perez superkicked her.
Rhea Ripley ran out and ducked a Rodriguez clothesline before hitting Perez with a big boot. Sky fought Rodriguez, and then Sky hit Rodriguez with a missile dropkick. Ripley cleared Rodriguez from the ring with a big boot…
Powell’s POV: An enjoyable match that will likely set up a tag team match. I’m surprised Asuka and Sane didn’t attempt to make the save after the match to set up another moment of friction between Sky and Asuka.
Jackie Redmond interviewed LA Knight, who started to speak about being tired of The Vision interfering. CM Punk entered the picture and asked for a second. Knight had Redmond stay. Punk said they needed to be on the same page. Knight said he’s had two title matches, and Punk stuck his nose in both matches. Knight said their issues aren’t personal, they’re about business. Punk talked about working together to avoid the Vision’s numbers game. Knight spoke about how he would end Clash in Paris with the title belt in his hand…
Graves hyped Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker in an Extreme Rules match as the show’s main event…
Xavier Woods made his entrance with Kofi Kingston and Grayson Waller… [C] Cole set up a AAA Triplemania recap video package… Graves and a graphic boasted that Triplemania was the most viewed in history, with over 4.3 million viewers in the first 24 hours…
Backstage, Sky thanked Ripley for helping her. Asuka and Sane showed up. Asuka didn’t look pleased. Asuka took issue with Sky letting Ripley help after telling her and Sane that they couldn’t help. Ripley and Asuka bickered. Sky stopped them and threw a massive hissy fit before leaving the area. Asuka told Ripley to stay out of their business…
Powell’s POV: Ah, there we go. I’m digging angry Asuka.
2. Penta vs. Xavier Woods (w/Kofi Kingston, Grayson Waller). Penta’s entrance was televised. A fan held up a “We Want Kross” sign in the hard camera shot. Penta started to give Woods his hand gesture, but Woods bit his hand. Woods dumped Penta on the apron heading into an early break. [C]
Penta dove from the top of the ring post onto Woods and Waller at ringside. Penta rolled Woods back inside the ring and followed. Woods came back and got a two count. Petna caught Woods going for a move and put him down with the Penta Driver. Penta was slow to make the cover, and Kingston placed his partner’s leg over the bottom rope.
[Hour Two] Penta jumped off the back of Woods and hit Kingston and Waller with a flip dive. Back inside the ring, Woods hooked Penta in an inside cradle and got a two count. Penta came right back with a Destroyer for the win…
Penta defeated Xavier Woods in 9:50.
Powell’s POV: Another fan held a Kross sign in the front row. Anyway, I’m getting a kick out of Waller playing the eager stooge for Kingston and Woods.
The broadcast team hyped Wolds Collide for Friday, September 12. They also recapped footage from last week of El Grande Americano and Dominik Mysterio beating AJ Styles and Dragon Lee last week, and of Styles costing Dom the AAA Mega Championship at Triplemania…
Footage aired from after the Triplemania show of Dom saying he would see El Hijo del Vikingo at Worlds Collide. Rey Mysterio mocked Dom as they crossed paths…
Graves hyped Vikingo vs. Dom for the AAA Mega Championship. The show is listed as starting on 2CT/3ET…
Powell’s POV: Was that time correct? With Worlds Collide being held in Las Vegas, I thought they were starting the show at 9CT/10ET after Smackdown goes off the air. Either way, this is what happens when I take a rare Friday night off. I’ll be at the Jerry Cantrell concert that night, so it looks like I’ll be doing a lot of catching up the next day.
World Tag Team Champions Finn Balor and JD McDonagh made their entrance. Cole said their match with Dragon Lee and Mr. Iguana would be unforgettable… [C]
Cooper DeJean was shown in the crowd with the Lombardi Trophy…
3. World Tag Team Champions Finn Balor and JD McDonagh (w/Dominik Mysterio) vs. Dragon Lee and Mr. Iguana in a non-title match. The babyface entrances were not televised. The babyface duo hit flip dives on Balor and McDonagh heading into a break. [C]
Late in the match, Lee caught Balor with a superkick. McDonagh distracted the referee while Dom grabbed Lee’s foot. Balor hit Lee from behind with a shotgun dropkick. Balor followed up with a Coup de Grace on Lee and scored the pin…
World Tag Team Champions Finn Balor and JD McDonagh beat Dragon Lee and Mr. Iguana in 9:50 in a non-title match.
After the match, Dom cleared the broadcast table and was preparing to pull Lee on top of it, but El Hijo del Vikingo showed up on the barricade and dropkicked Dom off the broadcast table. Vikingo avoided Balor and then took him down with a huracanrana. Viking entered the ring and hit McDonagh with a dropkick. Vikingo followed up with double knees on McDonagh.
Dom hit Vikingo from behind. Lee entered the ring and was put down by Balor. McDonagh held Vikingo’s legs while Dom went up top and hit him with a frog splash. The Judgment Day trio stood over Vikingo and celebrated with their title belts…
An updated graphic listed the correct start time for the Worlds Collide show being at 9CT/10ET…
Powell’s POV: Iguana Mania seems to be fading a bit. Are they going to show Vikingo performing moves, or will they actually attempt to establish a persona for him? By the way, the boos that Vikingo gets in Mexico did not follow him to Philadelphia…
Backstage, Jackie Redmond asked Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch why she attacked Natalya last week. Lynch claimed that Natalya attacked her. Lynch said she was giving Maxxine Dupri a pep talk after their match, and Natalya shoved her. Lynch said she defended herself. She said she would prove tonight that Natalya doesn’t belong in the ring with her…
Natalya was shown walking backstage with Akira Tozawa and Maxxine Dupri… [C]
A Bayley video aired. She looked stressed and, for some reason, we could hear her inner dialogue. Her inner voice talked shit to her about her past accolades, and now she’s nothing. The voice promised to steer her in the right direction if she listened to it. Bayley plugged her ears. The voice stopped. Bayley unplugged her ears and said she doesn’t know what she needs. “How about a hug?” the inner voice asked…
Powell’s POV: I really hope the idea is to eventually reveal that Bayley made these videos to convince opponents that she was losing her mind for some reason. Otherwise, it’s pure nonsense that we can hear her inner voice.
Entrances for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship match took place…
4. Becky Lynch vs. Natalya (w/Maxxine Dupri, Akira Tozawa) for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship. Alicia Taylor delivered in-ring introductions for the title match. Lynch avoided an early Sharpshooter, and then Natalya avoided a Manhandle Slam. Natalya put Lynch down with a German suplex. Lynch rolled to the floor. Natalya hit her with a baseball slide dropkick. Natalya rolled Lynch back inside the ring. Lynch caught Natalya with a kick and then ran her left shoulder into the ring post. [C]
Lynch applied an armbar. Natalya rolled on top of Lynch and had her pinned, which forced Lynch to break the hold. A short time later, Natalya hit a discus clothesline for a near fall. Lynch rolled to the apron and pulled Natalya’s face into the middle rope. Dupri checked on Natalya until Lynch kicked Dupri. Tozawa checked on Dupri until Lynch caught him with a baseball slide dropkick. Natalya hooked Lynch into a pin for another two count. Lynch wrenched the bad arm and then put her in the Disarmer for the submission win.
Becky Lynch defeated Natalya in 7:50 to retain the Women’s Intercontinental Championship.
After the match, Dupri got Lynch to break the hold. Lynch came back and attacked Dupri. Nikki Bella made her entrance and worked over Lynch with punches. Nikki hit Lynch with the Rack Attack 2.0 and then stood over her…
Powell’s POV: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Natalya took a back seat to Nikki during the Diva years, and she’s still taking a back seat to her all these years later.
Jackie Redmond was interviewing Sheamus in the backstage area. Rusev showed up. Sheamus and Rusev started to fight, but they were pulled apart by security and referees. Raw General Manager Adam Pearce showed up and blew a gasket while telling both men they wouldn’t do this tonight, but they would meet one more time in a Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook match at Clash in Paris…
The broadcast team set up a clip of Stephanie McMahon’s podcast that would drop after Raw. Stephanie said it was a bonus edition with Jimmy Uso and Naomi. The couple looked giddy, and Naomi said Jimmy had a message…
Powell’s POV: Geico saved them money on their car insurance?!? Okay, I think it seems pretty obvious given how happy they looked, but I’ll let Naomi share the good news after the break.
Cole hyped Naomi’s appearance for after the break… [C]
Jey Uso was warming up backstage when CM Punk showed up. Punk said he wanted to help Jey make it to Paris. Jey said he appreciated it, but he doesn’t want to owe anyone any favors. Jey and Punk shook hands before Jey made his exit, and then Punk shook his head…
Raw General Manager Adam Pearce stood in the ring and introduced Naomi. The Women’s World Champion was dressed in her gear and held up her title belt as she walked to the ring. “Champ, the floor is yours,” Pearce said before stepping back.
Naomi got emotional. The fans chanted her name. Naomi said this was hard. She told them to play the rest of the footage from the Stephanie McMahon podcast. “Y’all need to proceed with caution, because there’s a baby on board,” Jimmy said. Steph had Naomi make the announcement. “I’m pregnant, and I’m having a baby,” Naomi said.
In the ring, Pearce said everyone in the building is happy for her, and then congratulated her. Naomi’s demeanor changed. She said she bet that Pearce was happy for her. She said it’s not her first time relinquishing a title. She said she gave it up the first time, but this time she wasn’t handing him shit. She said her hormones were jumping and told him to get the hell out of her face. Naomi sang the goodbye song and did her laugh. The fans joined in. Naomi told Pearce that she hoped he tripped in his church shoes.
Naomi said the women backstage should thank Big Jim because they had no chance to take the title off her. “But thanks to Big Jim, he likes to Netflix and chill, if you know what I mean,” Naomi said with a laugh. A “you deserve it” chant broke out. “On the bright side, I guess The Bloodline continues, baby,” she said. For some reason, this led to an OTC chant.
Naomi looked at the custom title belt and said that she would lay it down. A “Baby Uso” chant started. Naomi said she would give the heifers a chance to do whatever they wanted to do with her title. She said she would be coming back to pick up where she left off. “And whoever has that title when I do, I strongly advise you to proceed with caution,” she closed. Naomi winked into the hard camera and then took a lap around the ring before making her exit…
Powell’s POV: Wait, crazy ass Naomi is having a kid?!? Call child services! Okay, I’m sure Trinity, the woman behind the character, will be a great mom. Congratulations to her, Jimmy, and their families on the wonderful news.
[Hour Three] Cole spoke about how Stephanie Vaquer was supposed to have a title match at Clash in Paris. Cole announced the start time for Monday’s Raw on Netflix from Birmingham, England, for 2CT/3ET. The broadcast team listed the following matches for next week’s show: Rhea Ripley vs. Roxanne Perez, and Penta vs. Kofi Kingston…
Graves hyped John Cena for Friday’s Smackdown in Dublin, Ireland…
Bron Breakker and Paul Heyman were shown walking together backstage while Cole said things would get extreme in Philly… [C]
Backstage, Finn Balor, JD McDonagh, Roxanne Perez, and Raquel Rodriguez were ready to leave the building, but they wondered where Dominik Mysterio was. They spotted him talking with El Grande Americano. Balor asked Dom what it was all about. Dom told him not to worry about it. Dom said he was making sure Judgment Day stays on top. Balor looked annoyed…
Jey Uso made his entrance wearing a bandana and had his shirt cut in New Jack style. Jey brought a shopping cart filled with weapons to the ring with him. Graves said no disrespect, but tonight it was New Jey City. Bron Breakker and Paul Heyman made their entrance…
6. Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker (w/Paul Heyman) in an Extreme Rules match. Early on, Jey clotheslined Breakker over the top rope, and Breakker’s legs landed on the shopping cart filled with weapons. Ouch. Breakker clutched his left knee. Jey leaned down and spoke to him for a second. Jey pulled a sponsored table out from underneath the ring, which gave Breakker some time to regroup. Breakker continued to sell his leg once he was back inside the ring. Jey sent Breakker to the floor and hit him with a suicide dive. [C]
Breakker jabbed a chair into Jey’s chest while Jey was down on the mat. Chairs and kendo sticks were spread out on the mat. Breakker slammed a trash can lid over Jey. Heyman clutched his chest to sell the damage. Breakker appeared to have a bruise above his left knee. Jey came back briefly, but Breakker turned him inside out with a clothesline. Jey had a trickle of blood on his nose. Breakker set up two chairs back-to-back in the ring and then dropped Jey on top of them.
Breakker had Jey leaning over the broadcast table. Breakker grabbed a trash can, jumped from the apron, and hit Jey with the trash can before sliding over the table. [C] Jey had Breakker pinned, but Bronson Reed showed up and pulled him out of the ring. LA Knight came out and worked over Reed by slamming his head on the broadcast table repeatedly. Seth Rollins showed up and ran Knight into the barricade. Rollins entered the ring and put Jey down with a Pedigree. Graves reminded viewers that the bell didn’t ring because it’s an Extreme Rules match.
CM Punk’s entrance music played, and he headed to the ring and threw punches at Rollins. The fans sang Punk’s song after it stopped playing. Punk rolled Rollins into the ring. Punk and Knight shrugged, and they both hit Rollins. Punk set up Rollins for a GTS, but Rollins raked his eyes and slipped away. Rollins shoved Punk, who accidentally knocked Knight off the apron through a table at ringside. Punk chased Rollins through the crowd.
Breakker set up a table inside the ring while an “OTC” chant broke out. Jey superkicked Breakker, who ended up on the table. Jey went up top, but Reed shoved him off the top rope. The fans chanted Roman Reigns’ name in European style, and then his entrance music played while Breakker was at ringside. Breakker ran right into a spear from Reigns, who then hit Reed with a Superman Punch. Reigns rolled Breakker inside the ring. Jey superkicked Breakker, who landed on the table again. Jey hit the Uso Splash that put Breakker through the table and then got the three count.
Jey Uso defeated Bron Breakker in an Extreme Rules match in 20:30.
Afterward, Reigns helped Jey to his feet and celebrated with him. Jey’s music played while Reigns jawed at Reed, who stood by Heyman in the entrance aisle. Reed said he would take Roman’s shoes again, but Heyman talked him out of going to the ring. Reed hit his own forehead with a chair while the executive producer credits were shown to end the episode…
Powell’s POV: The nice thing about getting an Extreme Rules match is that they couldn’t book another shitty DQ finish. I hope Breakker got out of this with nothing more than a bruise. It looked like his knee collided with the top of a trash can that was in the shopping cart. Breakker put himself in position to be clotheslined over the top rope, so this was either a planned spot or he forgot about the trash can.
Overall, this was a big improvement over Friday’s disappointing Smackdown. Even so, I have to question whether getting a couple of minutes of Roman Reigns was really worth the date that WWE burned. They advertised him in Philly, but they never advertised him as appearing on the actual Raw show. I will be back shortly with my weekly same-night audio review of Raw. Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons). Let me know what you thought of the show by grading the show below.
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OH STANLEY!
Well hopefully Tommy Dreamer doesn’t actually die anytime soon!
Lol
Speak for yourself.
Yes, I’m kidding!
Bayley’s going back to the hugger gimmick.
Bayley is trying to do Bray 2.0
I know Main Event Jay has his own thing, but Uncle Jay has a ring to it.
Flub dub
I guess we could say that Jimmy did not proceed with caution.
Hiyoooo!
Good thing the referee turned back and looked to make sure someone was going to pull him out before he finished the three count. Ugh
The New Day mourns t-shirt that was discussed during the Penta-Woods match is actually on sale at the WWE Shop.
Becky vs Natalya deserved better.
“The more things change, the more they stay the same. Natalya took a back seat to Nikki during the Diva years, and she’s still taking a back seat to her all these years later.”
Wrong. Natalya’s not taking a backseat to Nikki, tonight’s match was obviously done for them to kill off the Natalya character soon and allow her to be her “Nattie” character.
I hope you’re right.
If they are going with Bayley turning into a sort of psychotic version of her hugger character I’m in!